In a small town in Indiana, Brazil, two homesteaders learned how to build a cohesive family farming system. Interior designer and digital creator Kemp Harper and his partner, real estate agent Kevin Bowling, showcase their homesteading endeavors on his Instagram page, The Colonial on Park. There, they share a backyard shed with five chickens and two turkeys, whom they feed with food scraps. “This promotes zero food waste kitchens,” says Kemp. “In return, they provide us with eggs and fertilizer,” he added. The manure is then transferred to the compost bin along with the pruned vegetation and leaves. “This compost enriches the soil in our flower and vegetable gardens and creates a very happy environment for the bee hives.” The couple collects honey, and the bees pollinate the garden.
Kevin and Kemp purchased their home in 2016 and began homesteading shortly thereafter. But since then, homesteading has slowly started to become more popular in the surrounding area. “A lot of people are getting interested in backyard chickens,” Kemp says. “When our neighbors saw our success, they built their own cabins.”
Everything they do is motivated by a desire to be more sustainable, and they wouldn't be able to achieve this easily without homesteading. “In our opinion, homesteaders are people who look to the future and use their space to reduce dependence on the global food chain and reduce their carbon footprint,” Kemp said. To tell.
But it certainly seems like every homesteader is steeped in the homesteading aesthetic. Annette's Instagram page for her Azure Farm is like a secret garden oasis filled with baby goats and chicks. Kevin and Kemp took inspiration from 1990's Martha She Stewart and her legendary first home, Turkey Hill, and infused it with Ralph Her Lauren-inspired design cues. Kamaria also enjoys returning to an old-school aesthetic. Through the use of decorations and costumes, she says, we can reclaim the African American past.
“The '40s and '50s were a tumultuous time for black Americans, and much of our beauty and cultural contributions were ignored or overshadowed by overt racism,” she said. says. “So I sit here in my roller set and circle skirt, leaning against the patterned wallpaper like a scene from my favorite Golden Age movie, and thinking about our lives and our lives. We want everyone to see it. Eliminate the “whites only” propaganda. ”
For this reason, and its sustainable benefits (including combating food insecurity), homesteading seems more than just an aesthetic movement. “There's a difference between a lifestyle aesthetic and actually living it,” Kamaria insists. “French country style and cottagecore are closely related to homesteading because they have a cuteness about them that makes you feel like you're wearing an apron and baking pies at home. Don't get me wrong, I like baking from scratch too, but it's not homesteading, which requires a lot of effort and planning. [and] organization. “